The invention relates to a flow volume regulator having at least one throttle body which is composed of elastically deformable material and which is arranged in the throughflow duct of a regulator housing and which delimits a control gap between itself and a regulating profiling provided on an inner circumferential and/or outer circumferential duct wall, the clear throughflow cross section of which control gap can be varied as a result of the throttle body which can be deformed under the pressure of the medium flowing through, with the regulating housing bearing on its outer circumference a clamping edge region for clamping the flow volume regulator between two line sections or line components which are connected to one another.
Flow volume regulators are designed to be inserted into sanitary water lines in order to define, independently of the water pressure, a maximum value for the water quantity which can be extracted from said water lines. Flow volume regulators of said type are already known in various embodiments.
For example, DE 20 2007 008 808 U1 and DE 26 23 191 A1 have already disclosed flow volume regulators which are designed for water economization in showers. The already-known flow volume regulators have a housing which bears, in its face end regions, in each case one connecting thread. By means of the connecting threads provided in the face end regions, the regulator housing of said already-known flow volume regulator can be connected into the water line which leads to a shower head. The already-known flow volume regulators can also be installed into a water line retroactively; it is however a disadvantage that the regulator housing of said already-known flow volume regulator remains visible on account of the form and colour which are not matched to the existing line sections, and said regulator housing can therefore adversely affect the external appearance of the fitting.
A flow volume regulator has also been created having an annular throttle body which is composed of elastically deformable material and which is arranged in the throughflow duct of a regulator housing and which delimits a control gap between itself and a regulating profiling, the clear throughflow cross section of which control gap can be varied as a result of the throttle body which can be deformed under the pressure of the medium flowing through. To fix said already-known flow volume regulator in the water line, and for example to brace said flow volume regulator between two pipeline fittings or between a water hose or a handheld shower, an annular flange is provided on the outer circumference of the regulator housing, which annular flange serves as a clamping edge region for the already-known flow volume regulator.
To be able to install the already-known flow volume regulator with its clamping edge region, which is integrally formed on the regulator housing, into a water line in a sealed fashion, corresponding rubber seals must be provided on both sides of the already-known flow volume regulator. Since the clamping edge region and the rubber seals provided at both sides require a not inconsiderable amount of space, retroactive installation of the already-known flow volume regulator is not always possible. Furthermore, the installation of the already-known flow volume regulator is also hindered if that partial region of the regulator housing which protrudes beyond the clamping edge region does not fit into the clear line cross section.
A similar flow regulator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,178, for example.
A water line is already known from EP-A-1 042 452, which in the area of a screwed connection comprises a gasket between two adjacent line sections, with a sieve having a beaded jacket section being held, particularly in a friction fitting manner in the plugged in position, at the interior circumferential wall of the gasket, limiting the annular opening. Due to the fact that the sieve not considerably constricts the flow-through cross-section in the area of the screwed connection the sieve essentially presents no hydraulic resistance to the flowing water. Since the sieve represents no considerable hydraulic resistance, a friction-fitting fastening of the sieve is sufficient at the interior circumference of the gasket in the plugged in position. However, due to the fact that in flow regulators considerably higher hydraulic resistances develop regularly, such a friction-fitting connection of any components of the flow regulator would immediately be loosened by the pressure of the water flowing through it.